Trail of Ashes
by Work of Gods
Summary: A strange but rewarding mission makes Anko bite off more than she can chew. Who knew that her life could get anymore complicated. Be wary of the Trail of Ashes, for not even the devil himself knows where it leads. [Image from KevOMac at deviantart]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Welcome readers to the new and improved "Winds of Change" story. After months of not updating my original story, I really felt that the presentation of the characters and my overall writing was not the best. So I am overhauling that story and remaking a new and improved adventure that I hope you all like!**

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Anything Related To Naruto Or Its Franchise. **

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Chapter 1

Mission "Im"possible

Anko let out a deep sigh as she jumped from branch to branch, heading towards the border of Fire country. With each jump she made she felt her body dip as her weight bent the slim appendages of each tree. The branches made a soft _thwack_ noise of snapping back into place once she leaped off them. The sound was almost like a reminder for her to cut down on the sweets she loved so much. She grumbled to herself as yet another branch went _thwack_, her hand slipping into the deep pocket of her trenchcoat. Her thumb and forefinger rubbed against the cool fabric of the handle of her kunai, and she felt slightly relieved knowing that it had not left the protection of her coat pocket in the last five minutes.

Anko Mitarashi was not nervous, she just wanted to make sure everything was still where it should be. The forest thought otherwise, as a sparrow in a nearby tree chirped rather loudly causing Anko to nearly lose her footing on the branch she had just jumped to. The branch was, thankfully, thicker and sturdier than its kin. Anko regained her balance and shot a glare in the direction of the noise that could have made her fall ungracefully towards the forest floor. Unfazed by the glare of the female ninja the brown, white bellied bird gave another loud chirp. A subtle eye twitch from Anko and a few moments passed, and her ears were graced with another shrill cry.

"Shut the hell up you friggen alarm clock with wings!" she shouted, and she turned fully to regard the bird with a full-on death glare.

The sparrow took a hint and flew off its perch and into the green foliage of the forest. If it was scared or insulted she would never know. With a satisfied smirk on her lips, obviously relishing in her verbal victory with a sparrow, Anko took in the view of the lush and large forestry. Sunlight shown through the spaces between the leaves, and all around her, trees of all sizes rose from the earth. As always it was a breath-taking sight to behold, but Anko was a mission.

Though it was a strange one, Anko couldn't deny the amount of money that was offered.

_"I'd be able to purchase half a years worth of dango with all that money!"_ she silently rejoiced. Her mouth already watering at the prospect of eating her favorite snack. After a few moments of her dango fantasy she shook her head trying to get back on track. Her hand slipped back into the pocket of her coat easily finding the cool piece of steel, and her eyes narrowed.

Anko spread her feet and crouched, ready to jump to another branch. Propelling herself forward with her defined leg muscles, she landed onto a nearby branch and continued towards her destination.

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Noticing that the sun had begun setting, Anko stopped on a tree branch that overlooked a large gnarled uprooted tree. The base of the tree was still half-way into the earth, creating a small makeshift hut with the roots hanging over the entrance. She smiled softly as she descended from her perch and strode up to her home for the night. Sliding her backpack off, and setting up camp for the night, Anko went over her mission objective.

To eliminate a specter of unknown origin that has been harassing the local trade routes and has halted construction in the ruined town of Hiko.

When she read the B-rank mission scroll, she brushed aside the "specter" detail and was practically drooling over the amount of money. But when she did some research on the town of Hiko itself she found a very haunting past. Hiko was on the border between the lands of Wind and Fire , and during the Third Shinobi War, the town was raided and burned to the ground by a large group of Sand-nin. If this was in fact true, then Anko could be dealing with something totally unknown to her. The thought of ghosts actually being real sent a shiver up her spine.

_"Dummy, ghosts aren't real! Even if they are, none are a match for the Great Anko!"_ she thought smugly.

Anko ate dinner in silent bliss as she watched the sky, through the canopy, turn shades of pink, red, and purple. She wondered how everything was back at Kohona. No doubt that Nine-Tails brat was painting the Hokage faces again. She wondered if Kurenai was getting anywhere with Asuma. Probably not. She thought about the lazy-ass of a ninja Kakashi Hatake. They would go back and forth teasing and goading each other, thought it was mostly him annoying her. She wanted to get back there and start working on the Chunin Exams. Kakashi told her he was thinking of having his students take it this year.

She smiled to herself, and reached back to untie her ponytail. Her violet hair tumbled down, lightly brushing past the tips of her shoulders. Anko put out her makeshift campfire, and double-checked that everything was in order for the next day of traveling. She ran a hand absent-mindlessly through her hair, and rested her back on soft bark of the tree. The last thought she had, was that the wall of roots were calming as they seemed to create a barrier from the outside world.

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Anko woke up to the sound of chirping. Her right eye twitching in annoyance as she fumbled with her trenchcoat pulling out her kunai, and threw it towards her "alarm clock". The sound of flapping wings was heard, and Anko sighed in relief. She guessed she really did insult that damn bird. Grabbing a few dried rations and stretching she made her way over to where she had thrown her kunai. Anko noticed that it was early morning as she popped a dried peach slice into her mouth. Chewing on the rather tasteless fruit, she looked up finding the kunai embedded into the bark of a rather large tree.

Taking a bite of dried meat, Anko retrieved her kunai and started to cover her tracks. She threw dirt over the campfire, and checked the surrounding area for anything left behind. She tied her hair up in its usual ponytail, and smirked to herself. Taking a deep breath of fresh morning air, she looked around one last time to make sure she didn't forget anything. Nodding her head in approval, Anko mused that it was only a couple more hours of traveling before she reached the outskirts of Hiko.

Not wasting anymore time Anko set off towards the rumored ghost town.

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By midday Anko had arrived out of the dense forest and onto the main road that separated Wind from Fire. She also saw a caravan full of an assortment of goods trudging along the road.

_'"Must be one of the traders that come through here."_ she mused. A middle-aged man was ushering an oxen along with his reins, and the man looked downright miserable. He was rather scrawny with a mangled beard, and a white bandanna to keep his hair back. Anko approached the caravan slowly making sure the driver saw her.

"Oi! Hello there miss! It not everyday I get to see a lovely lady walking down the road. Especially around these parts." he said, though the last part made him shift uncomfortably.

"These parts?" Anko asked, totally ignoring the first part of the man's introduction. The man pulled on his reins slowing the caravan to a halt, and he regarded the purple-haired ninja with a look of fear.

"That's right miss. The word around these parts is that a ghost is haunting that damned village of Hiko. I even saw the thing! It looked like Death itself." The man shivered, and Anko's stomach churned uncomfortably. The man's eyes...they seemed hollowed, and were sunk back in his skull.

"Well, I'm here to resolve the issue. Could you go into anymore detail in about what you saw?"

The man's face brightened considerably. "Oi! You're really here to get rid of it? That is great!"

Anko raised a single eyebrow, and tapped the ground impatiently waiting for her answer. The man lowered his head and fiddled with his reins. "Ah, sorry. It was late at night and I didn't get a good look. But I remember it had long black hair, and it carried a jagged blade."

Anko mulled over the new information for a few moments. If this phantom was armed she needed to take extra precautions. But there was a nagging question she needed to ask. "How do you know it is a ghost?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" the man asked dumbly. He started at her as if she had three heads. Anko sighed, and glared at the man. She was getting fed up with his stupidity. "How do you know it is a ghost? From your description it could have been a rouge-nin." she said skeptically.

The caravan driver leaned back as to distance himself from her harsh gaze. He rubbed his beard in thought making it seem more messy if it was possible.

"Oh!" he snapped his fingers together after a few moments and smiled, relieving missing teeth. Anko scrunched her nose in disgust, but kept her eyes trained on the man.

"I remember that the thing just vanished out of thin air! That's how I knew." he said.

_"Vanished?" _she thought. _"Strange, it would make sense if this thing was actually a ghost but..."_ Something just didn't sit right with her. There were to many assumptions and not enough facts. She thought that gathering Intel would be the most effective way, but even the eye-witness accounts seemed unreliable.

_"Can't be helped" _she thought bitterly. "Well thank you for the information, sir. I'd best be going now." she looked back up towards the caravan, but it was gone. Puzzled, she looked behind her to see if it had taken off but it was nowhere to be found. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, and Anko reached for her kunai. Bringing the deadly weapon across her body, she bent her knees into a fighting stance. She swept the area with her narrowed eyes and saw nothing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching her.

Turning towards Hiko, Anko's hand never wavered from her kunai as she made her way down the dusty road.

**P.S. Reviews are much appreciated! Also if you find anything you don't like or think needs improvement feel free to message me! Constructive criticism is the best kind of criticism! **

**~WoG~**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Not much to say here, but I'd like to thank all the readers that have liked this story so far! I have so many ideas its quite hard to get them all funneled and set up properly. I tried to spice things up with a bit of humor. AHH! I'm sooo sorry for the late update! Please forgive me! I'm rambling now so I'll stop... Here it is! The second chapter!**

******Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Anything Related To Naruto Or Its Franchise.**

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Chapter 2

Ghost Town Showdown

It wasn't long until Anko came across a compound that had various building materials and tools scattered around it. It was a plain white building, that seemed to be fairly old judging from the ware and tear on the outside. Looking farther down the road she could see the outskirts of Hiko, if the piles of charred timber were any indication. Kunai in hand, she did a quick view of the immediate area. She noticed that there was a stark contrast on the border between the two nations. On one side there were spots of bushes and a few yards beyond was the thick forest, while the other side was a barren landscape of sand and heat that seemed to stretch for an eternity. Taking a few steps towards the building Anko felt like she was walking on the thin line between life and death. Her stomach flipped for the umpteenth time since the incident with the caravan driver, and she tightened her hold on her kunai.

Kneeling down, she extended her left arm and five small dark snakes slithered out from her sleeve. They traveled out in different directions, making a perimeter around the construction compound. Taking a deep breath once her snakes had found nothing, she stood up and headed for the entrance. Creaking the door open an inch Anko glanced inside to find the place a mess. Various blueprints and other documents were scattered across the floor, while tables were over-turned or laying on their sides. Light bathed the room through the windows, casting long shadows across the sea of papers.

Opening the door further, Anko made her way inside. Looking around inside she noticed that in some corners there were crates stacked on top of each other.

_"Must have been a storage space at one point."_ she mused.

Wading her way through the clutter she turned a corner, and her shinguard bumped into something. Looking down she noticed a unsealed cardboard box, with the writing "Recovered Belongings" written across the top. Quirking an eyebrow, she hauled the box up onto one of the few upright tables. Opening the box, she peered inside to find a small charred teddy bear on a pile of burned and torn pictures. One of its button eyes was missing, one of its arms had been torn off and there was a distinct reddish brown stain that covered its torso. Her eyes softened at the sight of the stuffed animal, and she reached into the box to pick it up. But when her fingers brushed the against the fur, Anko got the briefest vision of fire and steel. She heard the cries and pleas of mothers and children, smell the burning of wood and flesh, and could taste the metallic flavor of blood.

She jerked her hand backwards, bronze eyes wide in shock. Her gaze settled back on the bear as she took a step back. Unfortunately her unsteady footing caused by the sudden vision made her slip on a stack of papers, making her tumble backwards on her butt.

"Oww- Shit..." she muttered. Getting back up and dusting herself off, Anko gazed warily at the burnt child's toy. Hearing a quiet shuffle of feet, Anko's blood froze.

_"How did someone sneak in here without my snakes noticing?" _she thought angrily.

She cursed under her breath, as she tried reach out to her summons to no avail. The vision must have somehow severed her contract in that instant. More shuffling outside, and the creak of the door being opened. Anko silently hid against the corner of the wall, waiting intently with her senses on high alert. Low grumbling could be heard, and a shuffling of papers across the floor. Anko gripped her kunai tightly as a man's shadow came into view.

The man crept closer and he was nearly at the corner. Steeling herself she whirled on the intruder, kunai pressing up against the man's throat.

"Holy shit!- Lady what the fuck are you doing!" the man yelled. Anko narrowed her eyes and pressed down harder on her weapon. "I should ask you the same thing." she spat. "You might want to start talking before I stain the floor with your blood."

The man, fearing for his life, quickly surrendered. "Look lady. I'm just the construction project leader here. I came back down to the site to see if things have settled down." Crossing her arms over ample chest and taking a step back, Anko looked unconvinced.

The man patted his bulging stomach and smirked. "Do I look like a ninja to you?" Anko chuckled at the statement, as she looked at the overweight man in front of her. He was short and looked to be in his late forties. His large nose seemed even more defined by his balding head. He didn't even look fit to be in a job that required manual labor.

"For a construction worker you sure like to pack on the pounds, eh?"

The man gave a hearty laugh. "You sound like my wife."

"You're married? Shocker." Anko faked a surprised expression. To her surprise, he glared at her.

"Oi! What'ya trying to say huh!?" Anko sweat-dropped at his sudden change in attitude. "N-nothing."

The man grunted as he looked around the building, grumbling under his breath. "I should be the one asking you what you are doing here."

"A mission. I'm from Kohona and was sent to eliminate some sort of phantom."

"AHA! So help has come!" the man smiled to himself. Anko raised an eyebrow at the pudgy man's outburst.

"Ya see all this?" He spread his hands wide, gesturing to the mayhem around them. "It was caused by that damned thing. Me and the boys had enough, so we went on strike until the problems' fixed."

"Had enough?" Anko asked puzzled. "What else had happened?"

The man sagged down onto an upright chair, and his eyes seemed distant as he recalled the past events. "Well it all started when..."

-x-

Kakashi Hatake was having a good day. He didn't have Gai breathing down his neck for another challenge. His students were out training on their own for the day. And most importantly he had his trusty Icha Icha Paradise book with him. So here he was nestled on a tree branch on the outskirts of Kohona reading and watching the world go by. His visible eye wandered away from the page of shameless text, as he stared at the coming and going of people. Looking towards the Gates of Kohona he saw Asuma on guard duty. He wondered if the Third Hokage got any satisfaction in sticking his own son with such a boring task... Probably.

Looking up at the sky lazily he watched a few clouds go by. People who knew the silver-hared ninja knew he was late to pretty much everything. People who were close to him knew that he was never late to _one_ specific thing. Stowing away his book, Kakashi hopped down from the tree and made his way to the Memorial Stone. Walking down the oh-so familiar path he quietly arrived at the slab. Many names where written down, some vaguely familiar, some unknown to him. But there was a select few he knew very well.

_"Obito, Rin, Sensei..." _

Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets as he gazed at the names of his comrades and teacher. _"Must have been fate, right Sensei? To have your son under my tutelage." _

Thinking of the Nine-Tailed jinchūriki, Kakashi turned his head to face the Hokage monument,noticing graffiti from a certain blonde genin. He chuckled to himself and gazed at Minato Namikaze's name on the slab. If only Naruto knew...

-x-

Anko Mitarashi was having a bad day. From being disturbed by a disappearing caravan, to almost spilling a fat man's blood all over the floor, she deduced that this day would only get worse. And now she was stuck listening to this man's story. He was terribly long-winded and she inwardly groaned for the twentieth time. Having enough of his pointless ramblings she decided to interject.

"...Let me get this straight. You've been dealing with these strange occurrences for two months?! Why the fuck didn't you contact us yourself!?"

"You don't think I tried! Jeez..." The man snapped. Anko just sighed as she shifted her weight onto her left leg.

"I tried to get my request in, but they deemed it just 'Superstition'. Said I didn't have enough evidence, nor did they want to risk the resources coming this far out."

Anko hummed in response. She knew not all the requests became missions and that some got declined, but something told her that this was a serious matter. She looked back over her shoulder to the cardboard box on the table.

"What changed? How did you get it through?"

"Not me, my employer finally realized that we couldn't continue the operation and sent another request. And how do you think? Did you even look at the reward?" he snorted.

"Of course I looked at the reward! It's the only reason I came out to this damn place..."

"Tch, women. You're all the same, chasing after anything that gives you the most money..."

"EHHHHHH! Don't rope me in with your idiotic assumptions on females! Also you sound like your talking from experience!"

"Now who is assuming!"

"The hell are you taking about?! You're not even making sense you senile old fart!"

"Aren't Kohona kunoichi supposed to be civil respectable human beings?"

"Just what the hell are you implying!" Anko yelled, waving her hands around dramatically. After a brief silence Anko sighed, shaking her head back and forth. Arguing with lardo would get her nowhere. She had no doubt the strange occurrences were connected to the bloody town's past.

Looking behind her, she glanced again at the cardboard box. Turning around fully she made her way back towards it, and looked at the stuffed animal. Reaching out tentatively she brushed the burnt fur again, but no vision came this time. Picking up the only clue she had, she placed it in her left trenchcoat pocket. Turning around to face the construction worker, she noticed he was picking up certain blueprints and trying to sort out the mess. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she asked.

"What exactly are you planning on building?"

The man flinched at the sudden question, and after a brief silence he looked back at her a warning look in his eyes. "It's not part of your mission to know is it?" Anko taken aback by the sudden fierceness, only shrugged and mumbled a 'guess not' under her breath.

Realizing that she would get no more information from him, she made her way towards the door kicking up papers for good measure. Opening the door and stepping outside, Anko noticed it had gotten colder. Ignoring the chilling winds nipping at her, she made her way down the road towards the burnt down town. With every step she made, she felt the teddy bear grow heavier and heavier.

"Stupid mission with its stupid ghosts..." she mumbled.

Arriving at the entrance, she sucked in a breath and looked out in stunned silence at the ruined town. Gray. Even well after more than a decade, Hiko was still covered in its own ashes. Her left pocket felt like a ton of bricks, and she shivered involuntarily as a particular cold breeze whisked by.

Steeling her resolve, she slowly made her way through to the center of Hiko. Her feet crunched as she walked, and Anko morbidly wondered if she was stepping on someone's grave.

It was a rather small assortment of different buildings. Though most were collapsed by the passage of time, some had remained. Charred piles of wood and timber were littered everywhere, though it looked like the construction crew had cleaned up a bit. There were a few isolated stacks of debris in various parts of the town, though most of the debris that they had managed to collect was moved outside the town.

Moving towards one of the half-destroyed houses, Anko ran her hand over the decayed wood feeling the grooves along its surface. Looking for the phantom might be harder than she thought. **  
**

Hours ticked by as Anko made a full sweep of the town. And before she knew it, the sun had set and the inky blackness of night had crept into the sky. The only light source was the moon as it hung high in the sky casting its white light over Hiko. Sighing indignantly Anko crouched down and picked absent-mindlessly at some rubble. She had found absolutely nothing after searching of hours, and she was getting frustrated.

"How am I supposed to find the ghost when there is absolutely nothing here!" Anko yelled into the night.

_Pain..._

Anko whirled around in surprise drawing her kunai. Narrowing her eyes, she squinted in the darkness trying to distinguish where the voice came from. It sounded distorted, like too many voices talking at once.

_Burning..._

The whispering was closer now, and Anko felt her hair rise on the back of her neck. She took a step back and her foot crunched down on the ashes.

_DYING!_

The voice boomed all around her and Anko widened her eyes in horror as something began to take shape in the moonlight. Dark tendrils slithered along the ground and came together, twisting and smashing against each other. Slowly a body began to materialize, and Anko noticing it as a possible threat threw her kunai with deadly accuracy. It whizzed through the air and pierced through the would-be skull, but to her dismay the kunai passed through and the gap in the black figure's head closed up. The black mass started to become more defined; arms became noticeable, long black streaks sprouted from its head and smoothed out creating a veil of midnight black hair that was barely visible in the dark. It had empty black holes for eyes, and its nose looked more akin to a rotting corpse than a humans'. The black entity's mouth was sown shut, though it looked like it was stretching apart, the gaps in the stitch growing longer and longer.

The creature moved its right hand over were its heart would be and plunged his hand into its chest, and it's mouth ripped open letting forth a horrifying scream. Anko brought her hands to her ears to block out the terrible noise, but it still rattled her bones and shook her down to her very core. She felt it weight down on her, like a heavy blanket filled with sorrow and pain. Gritting her teeth Anko's eyes never left her opponent however, and she noticed the monster's hand coming back out. It was pulling something out, black wisps of darkness coiling around its hand as it did so. To her dismay it looked like a weapon. It's hand moved away from its body drawing out a thin jagged black blade. When the blade came free from the creature's black smoke-like flesh the wailing subsided, and something was screaming in the back of her mind to remember something important.

_Long black hair..._

_Jagged blade..._

A pair of sunken-in eyes filled with fear flashed in her mind's eye, and Anko remembered the caravan driver's words.

_"This thing is the ghost?! Looks like some kind of demon!" _she thought. Anko didn't have much time to think on the matter anymore, as the ghost started to glide towards her. She knew physical attacks and ninja tools were no use to her, as the attacks would slip right through, so she jumped backwards into the air and did quick hand signs for a fire jutsu. Inhaling a quick breath Anko breathed a hot stream of orange and red. As soon as the ghost saw the fire it screeched madly in mix of fear and rage. Fire bathed the everything in front of Anko like a mini inferno. Old rotten logs and various aged debris were no match for the flames and they were devoured by fire once again. Looking around for the ghost, Anko couldn't seem to find any sign of where it had gone.

_Fire...Not again..._

_Never again...FIRE NEVER AGAIN!_

Anko looked around trying to find where the chorus of voices where coming from. They seemed to be coming from all around her encasing her in a tomb of maddening yells and whispers. Her hairs on the back of her neck rose, and she felt goosebumps starting to form on her arms.

_Burning...I remember..._

_FIRE! FIRE EVERYWHERE! MAKE IT STOP!_

_NOOO! MY CHILDREN! YOU MURDERERS! FIENDS! _

_Mommy...save me..I'm scared...Don't leave me.._

_Don't leave me..._

"ENOUGH!" Anko shouted into the night. Her eyes wide with terror and something else. She didn't even process that she was shaking uncontrollably. She blindly reached into her trenchcoat pocket searching for her weapon. Her hand grabbed the fur of the teddy bear tightly and Anko inhaled sharply as fire and pain and suffering danced across her mind in sickening fast motion.

Shutting her eyes tightly and gathering her wits, she pulled the child's toy from her pocket and clutched with both hands. She knew that the logically part of her brain told her that this was a terrible idea but fighting with a ghost didn't require logic, it required emotion and memories. And Anko had plenty of both.

"Listen to me!" she pleaded but the voices continued to murmur, their chants unbroken.

"I SAID LISTEN TO ME! I KNOW YOUR PAIN!" she screamed, her chest heaving, as she opened her eyes. The murmuring ceased and a long silence filed the air. It was haunting in a way and Anko wondered if the whispers were better than silence. Just when she was going to speak up again, a quiet whisper was heard. She almost missed it, it was so faint.

_Know?_

Anko's blood ran cold, she had to think of something quick to say otherwise-

_KNOW?! YOU THINK YOU KNOW?!_

Anko closed her eyes again and waited for the onslaught of ghastly whispers and yells but none came. Opening her eyes slowly Anko's entire body tensed and a scream died in her throat. Inches away from her face was the ghost, it's black eyes staring soullessly into her bronze depths. The nose was even more deformed up close, like it had been bashed against the ground repeatedly. But the worst part was the mouth. Jagged lines of black smoke were the lips and the teeth for beyond that lied nothingness. An abyss waiting to swallow her soul. Its lips did not move but it spoke.

_You..know..NOTHING..you..CAN'T..possibly..understand.._

Anko wanted to look anywhere but the ghost's face, but she was afraid if she did it would provoke it. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that the evil ghost had its arm raised and poised to strike at any moment. She tightened her hold on the teddy bear in her hands.

"Oh but I do... I know the pain of losing everything." she said with sad eyes. The ghost was taken aback by the sudden confession, not sure of what to make of the intruder. It was used to humans running in fear, not conversing with it. It gave Anko a split second to dart her eyes around the ghost's body for any signs of weakness. The creature blended in perfectly with the night, but that was also its undoing. Where it had pulled the sword from there was a gaping hole about the size of her two fists. It was as plain as day to see under the moonlight. She knew what she had to do. The teddy bear was a link to the past, a sort of gateway for the spirits to roam the world. Her visions of the past told her that much. If she returned it to the source, she _hoped_ it would release the spirits and put them to rest.

With an adrenaline-fueled shout, Anko raised both arms and thrust them forward into the ghost's "heart". The effect was immediate. The black ghost screamed in absolute agony, its black smoke form withering, trying to escape but Anko held fast. The scream was deafening, like the whole town of Hiko screaming from its grave. Wanting, n_eeding_, to exact vengeance on those responsible. More visions danced behind her eyes now; Families slaughtered at their own dinner tables. Mothers crying and groveling as their children were taken from them. Husbands gripping their dead wives as a sword came down upon them. The whole town in a sea of fire as the masked shinobi looked on.

Anko screwed her eyes shut, trying very hard to block out the mental images.

_"No more. Please no more.." _she pleaded soundlessly. Anko felt a slight breeze against her cheek and she snapped her eyes open, bringing her mind to the present. The ghost was still withering around uncontrollably, its arms flailing in wide arcs. She could feel it getting weaker by the second, but in feat of desperation the ghost mustered the last of its strength and lashed out with its sword arm. Anko had no time to react, as the sword bit into her shoulder and traveled along the length of her chest diagonally. There was no blood and no cut, but the sword passed through her like a hot knife through butter. Anko _almost_ let go of the teddy bear as all the air left her lungs. Frozen. That's how she felt. As if her heart was replaced by a pump that sent ice through her veins. Then it the sensation was gone and so was the ghost. All that remained was Anko, the slightly charred street in front of her, the moon shining it's white light and bathing the town and Anko in a ethereal glow, and a small charred teddy bear laying on the ashes.

Anko let out a shaky breath she didn't know she was holding, and looked down at the child's toy that saved her life. Crouching down, she slowly reached for the bear but stopped midway. It was too risky she realized to touch the thing that had been a part of the ghost, so she instead decided to burn it.

_What irony._ she thought bitterly as she watched the flames lick and devour the toy. It almost looked like it was smiling at her. _Thanking _her for finally being able to rest. When even the bear's face became unrecognizable, Anko turned away and walked away from the now non-haunted Hiko. Only when she reached the road on the outskirts did she realize that her hands where shaking. She slowly closed her eyes, and steadied her breathing.

_"It's over." _She chanted in her mind. But if it was over why did she feel so uneasy?

_Don't leave me.._

Bronze eyes wide in shock, Anko whirled around to stare at Hiko. Now scared more than ever, Anko slowly moved backwards her eyes darting around to catch any sudden movements.

_Don't leave me.. _

Anko then realized that it was her own voice in her head that said that. Gritting her teeth she clutched both sides of her head. "Shut up.."

_Don't leave..._

Gripping harder at her hair, she breathed hard out of clenched teeth. "I said shut up!"

_Don't..leave...sensei_

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" she screamed at herself. Her breathing now ragged, she didn't know why but she felt so _defeated_. Her shoulders sagged, and she started at the moonlit dirt road in front of her. But her inner-mind said no more. Her thoughts turned to her former sensei, and a dull ache began at the base of her neck like it always did.

_"No..I refuse to let that bastard effect me like this." _She thought angrily. Standing back up straight with renewed vigor, She turned away from the town once more and took a step, and she almost crumpled to the ground. She was mentally exhausted she realized, and every time she closed her eyes she saw the visions again and again. Another step and she wobbled trying to keep her balance. Another step and she crashed to the hard ground scrapping her cheek, but she barely felt it. All she wanted to do was rest. For the darkness of sleep to carry her away from all her troubles and pain.

As Anko let sleep take her, a lone figure emerged from the forestry a few yards away. A man with long black hair and a jagged blade gripped in his hand...

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**A/N: HOHOHO! Cliffhangers! :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh I do enjoy a little Naruto and Sakura interaction. Also I made a little ****tweak at the end of chapter two to make a scene in this chapter flow better.**

**Thank for your review SuperSayian4Vegeta! Much appreciated. And you find out a little bit about the mysterious man this chapter. Not a lot though, this has mystery genre after all!**

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Naruto Or Anything Related to the Franchise. **

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Chapter 3

The Welcoming Committee

Sunshine shone through the window of Naruto's home in the early morning. The young genin was spread out across his bed haphazardly mumbling every so often in his sleep. Outside in the morning air birds chirped loudly making the blonde boy frown and roll over on his stomach. Another round of warbles and Naruto's eyebrows furrowed for a few seconds and then he slowly opened his cerulean blue eyes.

"Uwahh...?" he said to no-one in particular as he rose from his makeshift bed. His bedroom was a collection of ramen bowls and cups along with stray dirty clothes laying in various heaps across the room. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Naruto glanced over at his toad clock. The time read 6 AM.

"Awww man!" Naruto wailed, flailing his arms around comically. "I still got two hours till I gotta be at the village gates for the mission! And knowing Kakashi-sensei It will be a _long_ time before the mission will actually start." He stated with dissatisfaction. He glared out the window trying and failing to stop the bird noises as they continued chirp.

Quickly forgetting about the obnoxious sounds, Naruto decided to start getting ready anyways. "No time like the present!" he smiled to himself.

Double checking that he had everything, the young jinchūriki made is way out of his small run-down home and went across Kohona to his favorite ramen restaurant. As usual, some of the villagers glared or moved away from him but he paid them no mind. No one was going to dampen his mood today!

"Oi! Old man! I'm starvin' for some ramen!" He yelled as he entered.

"Hoho! Naruto!" the older man said in a jovial tone making his way out from the kitchen. "You know how it is in the morning. It may take some time but Ayame and I will have some ramen for ya!" He said and laughing again, he disappeared back into the kitchen. Naruto gave a toothy grin in response as he sat himself down. He was surprised to hear the cotton flap open again and he turned his head to see who had come in this early in the morning. His eyes almost bulged out of his head when he saw the person.

"S-Sakura-chan!" he said utterly surprised. She offered him a small smile almost nervously, and took a seat next to him. "Hey Naruto. I'm surprised you're actually up this early in the morning."

"W-what do you mean by that!" he cried. Naruto pouted and looked away grumbling under his breath when she gave him a look that said "_Really?_". She giggled a bit, and Naruto's insides flipped and he looked back at her and smiled. "The real question Sakura-chan is, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Well in my rush to get there early for the mission and Sasuke-kun I forgot to eat breakfast." His smile faltered a bit at the mention of their black-haired Uchiha teammate. Then her stomach growled in response, and Naruto laughed while Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "I saw you rush in here, so I thought I'd eat with you." Sakura said and then sweatdropped at Naruto's appearance. He had a goofy smile and seemed to be lost in his own little world mumbling something under his breath.

"_Ahhh~ Those old farts in the sky are on my side today!_" Naruto thought blissfully.

"Alright! I've got your ramen Naruto and- Oh! Lookie here! You got yourself quite the catch eh Naruto? hehe.." The old man just smiled knowingly while his daughter swooned behind him. Naruto, shaken from his dreamland, gaped like a fish while Sakura shook her head furiously side to side clearly appalled by the older man's words.

"N-Now dont go assuming things old man!" he yelled blushing, and pointing an accusing finger at the ramen chef. "Hoho! Alright alright Naruto. Now what can I get for you my dear?" He asked as he set two bowls of ramen in front of Naruto. She glanced over at Naruto who was now chowing down in an unsightly manner. A small smile crept onto her face and she answered. "A small of whatever he has, please."

-x-

Anko opened her eyes and then immediately closed then again. Scrunching her face up in discomfort she tried to clear the fog of sleep from her mind. Twisting her body she realized her movements where rather constricted, but she was not bound. It felt more like a thin blanket or sheet was covering her.

"_Wait...sheet?_" she thought oddly.

Not wanting to open her eyes just yet she reached forward with both arms and they touched something warm, solid, and _very _near to her. Even though her mind was still cloudy she was begin to fit the pieces together. And when she leaned in closer to the mysterious object she felt a pair of arms rap around her and a hand grab her ass. And then the whole world seemed to come into focus in an instant. The even breathing of a person next to her, the taunt muscles under her touch, The way the sheets seemed to stick to her skin and _not_ her clothes.

Anko opened her eyes fiercely, brought her knee up into the person's groin area, and screamed. "THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

The man didn't even have time to register what happened only that his jewels had been crushed and all that was good in the world had been squashed into nothing. He let out a inhumanly high screech that sounded strangely familiar and scrambled away from the testicle deathtrap. Tumbling over the bed side, he could only grasp his nether-regions with his hands. On the other hand, Anko was absolutely enraged. She crawled across the bed in blind rage not caring if she was completely naked. She peered down at the man and her breath caught in her throat, all previous angry leaving her system.

"_Long__ black hair._" she thought. Her gut twisted into a knot, and her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong. She breathed out unevenly.

_Don't leave me..._

Anko sucked in a breath and she felt her hands shaking.

The man groaned in pain. His eyes where screwed shut and he was still clutching his precious 'family starters'. Anko trying to relieve all the pent-up stress lashed out in the only way that seemed appropriate. Verbal abuse.

"You perverted fuck, I am going to do much worse than hurt your 'little friends'." she threatened. Her face an assortment of anger and revulsion. The man groaned and cracked an eye open. He opened his other eye and started blankly into her bronze orbs his pain forgotten. Anko's hair rose on the back of her neck when she peered into the black voids of his eye sockets, something was definitely _wrong_. He reached up with both hands and cupped his hands around the sides of her head.

"Wake up." the man said firmly. His distorted voice making it hard for her to understand. Like too many people talking at once.

"What?" she said dumbly, and tried to pull back but the dark-haired man held fast. "Wake up _Baioretto sunēku_" he said again.

Then the man's face became distorted as it twisted and molded into the face of Orochimaru cruelly smiling up at her. His mouth didn't move but she heard his sickening voice in her head.

_Don't leave me..._

_Don't leave me..._

Anko heard a scream and she realized it was her own. Then there was nothing.

-x-

Anko opened her eyes and shot straight up, hitting her head on something hard. Groaning in pain she placed a hand over the right side of her face and slowly opened her left eye. Anko quickly looked down and thankfully had her clothes on. She shuddered involuntarily as she remembered her nightmare. Rubbing the right side of her forehead, Anko took in her surroundings. She was sitting in the overturned tree stump she used on her way here.

"_But how?_" she wondered. The last thing she remembered she was looking for the ghost in Hiko and then... Memories of the battle flashed through her mind: The visions of murder and pain, the screams of all the voices within the ghost, and finally her victory with the help of the stuffed bear. Rather than feeling proud of another mission complete, Anko felt hollow. Like there was a black pit in her chest that was sucking up everything. The battle with the phantom had brought up feelings and memories best left buried. Bringing her hand down from her forehead, she unconsciously rubbed her curse mark on the base of her neck.

The sound of a fallen tree branch breaking rose Anko from her dark thoughts. Drawing a kunai from her pouch, she quietly made her way to the entrance of the makeshift hut. Using her other hand she cast aside some roots to poke her body half-way out of the tree stump. A campfire was burning not far from her.

"_Someone else is here...and they are close._" she deduced. Another broken tree branch to her left, and on pure instinct Anko let her kunai fly in the direction of the sound. It whizzed through the clearing and passed through the small foliage of the forest floor. She listened intently for a cry of pain but instead a voice spoke.

"You really should look before you throw those things. They are dangerous." The voice was casual, almost relaxed and Anko tilted her head up to stare at owner of the voice. A tall man stood at the base of the stump directly above her. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized his long flowing black hair. He rose a single eyebrow down at her. "You look like you've seen a ghost." It was true. Her face was as white as paper and her pupils were the size of dinner plates. She flinched at the sound of his voice, half expecting it to be her former sensei's. "S-Sorry" she stuttered. " I had a really bad dream."

"_Understatement of the year._" she thought darkly.

"Ah. Nightmares." the man said casually. "I got used to mine so they don't really bother me anymore." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Anyways, I got breakfast." He held up a dead rabbit in his hand. "I'll cook, so just sit tight." He jumped off the stump and strolled over to the campfire. Anko took a couple of deep breaths to calm her fried nerves. The man must have found her collapsed on the outskirts of Hiko and brought her here. He didn't seem like a threat, though he was a bit too relaxed. But if he was willing to help her and he got breakfast, Anko could go along with this. For now.

Serious questions began to form as Anko watched the mysterious man crouch down and started to skin their breakfast.

How did he even know about this place? Why was he in such a forsaken place as Hiko in the middle of the night? Furthermore why did he remind her so much of the ghost?

Moving all the way out of the tree stump, Anko rose on wobbly legs, her snake fang necklace swaying, and made her way over to the campfire. "How did you find me?" she asked.

He glanced back at her then returned to his work of skinning the animal. "You're a tough one aren't ya. Most people don't recover as fast as you did." he said, ignoring her question.

"Don't change the subject."

"Well, I was just strolling along merrily when I happened to find-"

"Bullshit. It was the middle of the night!"

"Well if I told ya, where is the fun in that?" He smirked casting a sidelong look at her as she crouched down beside him. Anko just huffed and muttered curses under her breath as she pulled some grass out of the earth in frustration. "Well can I get a name for my 'savior'." she said sarcastically after a few moments of silence. By now the rabbit had been skinned and now he was doing the dirty task of gutting the thing. Anko grimaced at the sight.

"My name huh? Why don't you tell me yours first?" Anko gritted her teeth, why did he have to be so difficult! She sighed indignantly, and started at the flames for a while. "My name is Anko Mitarashi." she said when he had put the rabbit over the fire to cook.

"Anko huh? Kinda of a funny name if you ask me."

"No one did!" she shouted, Her angry quickly rising. The man shrank back from her. Whether it was from fear or the volume of her voice she didn't know. She hoped it was the former. It wasn't.

"Whoa there Anko, no need to get frisky or anything. Unless you want to get frisky _elsewhere_..."

"Yea, like i'd want to roll around with you under the sheets. You'd probably get tangled in your own hair." she snorted at her own joke.

"Ouch." he said, a mock hurt expression on his face. Anko just rolled her eyes, it was a few moments of silence until he spoke again.

"So, you're from Kohona?" He asked casually, pointing at her headband. "What's that like?" She was taken aback by his question._ "Did he live under a rock or something?_" she thought.

"Yea I am." she said as she turned to face him. He had a deep shade of jade in his eyes, and a strong but long jawline. His nose was a little on the big side but he was still handsome. The most striking feature was his eyelashes, they were long but not in a feminine way and they seemed to complement his features.

"_Nothing like the ghost._" she reminded herself.

"You know if you stare-" Anko fixed him a glare and he closed his mouth. "Kohona is hard to explain." she started. "I've been there my whole life, so I don't think words could do it justice." She shifted her weight backwards, and plopped on the forest floor. "But if I had to sum it up in a sentence I'd guess i would say 'It's my home.'." She smiled and looked up at the morning sky. "Kinda cheesy huh?" She hadn't talked to someone like this in a while. It felt rather refreshing, even if the person she was talking to was a stranger.

"A little." He admitted. "But if that is how you feel I won't make fun of it." He said looking over at her. "After all, 'Home is where the heart is.' No?" She looked over at him, something in his eyes seemed off and he had an unidentifiable expression on his face. Then after a second it vanished only to be replaced by a ghost of a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

After a few minutes of silence the cooked rabbit was ready, and Anko thought it wasn't half bad. When asked about how he knew how to cook wild rabbit, he just shrugged and said it was one of his many 'talents'. Anko scoffed. "I bet one of your other talents is-"

"rolling around in the sheets?" he finished for her giving her a sly look. Anko gave a bark of laughter at that. "No. Well maybe, but i was going to say nursing random strangers on the road back to health." He scratched the side of his face with his index finger. "Well. It's one of my lesser talents, and I only do it for pretty ladies like yourself."

Anko snorted unladylike. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Sake might though."

The male smirked. " Too bad then. Fresh outta that."

Anko hummed and looked back up to see the sun was about an hour or two off from midday. If she left soon, she should get back to the village in a couple of hours. Noticing her breakfast companion shifting, she cast a glance his way. He had stood up and was turning away from her, moving over back to the tree stump.

"Where are you going?" She asked a bit too quickly as she stood up to face him.

"Miss me already?" He countered not looking back as he spoke, but she could still see the smirk on his face.

"Like hell dumbass! You didn't answer my other questions!" He didn't deny it, but he didn't reply either. He just walked back over to the stump, and reached over to grab his sword. Lifting it up and placing it over his shoulder she noticed the small sharp groves in the blade. It looked worn from years of use and the hilt of the blade was wrapped in white bandages.

Anko's breath hitched in her throat. "_Jagged blade." _A voice whispered in her mind. Her knees felt weak as she watched him turn towards her again.

"_This can't be a coincidence. This man has some connection to Hiko._" she thought. Steeling her resolve, she looked at the man with new found determination.

"Now listen here. You're going to answer my questions. _O__r else_." She threatened giving the swordsman a leveled gaze. She crossed her arms over her chest for good measure.

The man just started stoically for a few moments before he cracked a grin at her. "You sure are _frisky_ aren't you? But why would I tell you anything, if I knew anything anyways?" he asked cheekily.

"Don't think you can weasel your way out of this with words. Did you think you could just walk away without me having some kind of suspicion?"

The man shrugged his shoulders in his carefree manner. "Maybe, maybe not. Question is; How far are you willing to go for the answers?" he said and regarded her with a calm stare.

The question caught her off guard. Why did she care so much? She had finished her mission and should be heading back towards the village to receive her rather large payment. Why did she feel the need to find out anything else?

"I...don't even know why I want the answers." she spoke softly. "But _something_ is telling me that there is more to my mission, no even that town, that needs to be found out."

The man shifted his weight onto this left leg and rolled his shoulder, causing the blade's edge to reflect some sunlight. "Well~~...Hope that works out for ya."

Anko sputtered and her eyes bulged at his lackluster reply. "Ehh?! W-What?!" she managed to spit out, but the man paid her no mind as he walked to the edge of the small clearing. He turned back to her and with a smile and a wave and said, "It was nice meeting ya. Piece of advice though. Try not to pass out on roads anymore, it's not very safe." Then he vanished into the morning air.

Anko was so stunned that she didn't even reply or acknowledge the lighthearted jab at her pride. Taking a few moments to process everything, Anko clenched her fists angrily, lifted her head to the sky, and shouted in rage. "THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

-x-

"Kakashi-sensei! How much farther?" Naruto whined as he jumped from branch to branch. The mentioned jōnin only sighed in response and stuck his head futher into his book as if trying to escape the world around him.

"Hmph. Look at that dope. Your obnoxiousness is even getting to our sensei."

"Obnox-what?" he asked dumbly. Sasuke Uchiha only sighed and shook his head, while Sakura giggled.

"Hey! I know you just made fun of me! I'll beat you till you're just like your hair and shirt! Black and blue, you teme!"

Kakashi cut in before they could escalate their bickering into a brawl. "Both of you that's quite enough."

Raising his head out of his book, Kakashi Hatake looked up at the sky. The sun was high in the sky, but it was on its decent to the west. "We should be there soon. This should be an easy mission for you all, so I expect it to be done quick."

Naruto grumbled something along the lines of "Would have been quicker if you were on time." but thankfully Kakashi didn't hear that.

"I heard that Naruto." Or he did. Dammit.

"Still I can't believe that the old cat lady lost her cat way out here!" Naruto exclaimed rather solemnly. "I don't want to get all those scratches again."

This time Sakura piped up. "Well the main road to Kohona is near here, so it really isn't that unbelievable that the cat managed to escape from the Fire country Lord wife's carriage and get into the forest."

Naruto hung his head dejectedly. "N-Not you too, Sakura-chan..."

After a while of silent travel, Kakashi stopped on a rather large tree branch and brought his hand up to stop his students. "Someone is here and they are _near_." he whispered. Sasuke immediately crouched into a fighting stance and withdrew a kunai from his pouch. Sakura was crouched and her eyes where surveying the trees and ground around them for any clues. Naruto bent down as well and whispered. "Eh? How do you know that Kakashi-sensei?"

"Quiet." He demanded, and Naruto flinched at the sudden coldness in his voice. He set his mouth in a tight line and drew a kunai from his pouch.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kakashi relaxed and stood up again. "Seems like whoever that was has gone now. Though we will have to make note of it in our report to the Hokage." Kakashi looked around with his visable eye and stated. "This is a good place to start as any. I want you three to fan out and see what you can find. Remember your communicators so we can keep in touch."

"Yes, sensei." they said in unison. As the dissipated into the forest, Kakashi placed his book into his weapons pouch. Taking a kunai, Kakashi gently sliced one of his fingers and performed a summon jutsu. Summoning Pakkun into existence on the bark of the tree, Kakashi's eye crinkled into his signature eye-smile and brought a hand up in greeting.

"Hello, Kakashi." the small dog said. His gruff voice was strange due to his lack of height.

"I've got a job for you Pakkun. An unknown person came through here just a bit ago, and I want you to track them."

The dog raised one of his eyebrows. "Just one person? Couldn't you do that yourself?"

"I'm not a solo mission. I have my genin team here, and I have to make sure they are protected."

The dog grunted in agreement, and began to sniff the air. "I'm picking up on one unfamiliar scent. Definitely male. He seems to be heading north of here."

Kakashi nodded. "Track him, but if he gets to far away from my location just fall back. I'll report this to the Hokage even if we don't catch the man."

"Right." the small dog nodded and took off northbound, hopping from branch to branch.

Sighing, Kakashi brought his communcator to his ear, hooking it into place, and spoke through the microphone.

"Any luck you three?"

"Nothing." Sasuke's short reply came sooner than expected.

"I'm not finding anything either Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said.

"GAHH!" Then a thud, and Kakashi was almost about to yell out but Naruto's voice came back. "DAMN MANGY CAT! GET YOUR STUPID ASS BACK HERE! IMMA GET YA SO I CAN SHOW THAT TEME SASUKE I'M BETTER THAN HIM!"

Silence in the line for a three whole seconds before Sasuke muttered "Dope.." and Kakashi sighed again for the umpteenth time that day.

"Naruto..Where are you?"

"How should I know?! But that damned cat is heading north. I'm defiantly going to catch it!"

"Naruto. Follow the cat with caution. Everyone else head north and converge on Naruto."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said, asking the unspoken question.

"That person we avoided is heading north as well. We might cross paths, and if we do it could turn dangerous. Like with Zabuza and Haku, so I want everyone on alert. This mission is no longer D-rank."

With that all the members of team 7 ventured north to see what awaited them.

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**A/N: Are you wondering who the Welcoming Committee is now? :P**


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